The history giant beamed. “Thank you,” he cried gratefully. “And good luck to you, Jack!”
In scarcely half an hour they came to the map giant sitting on one of the towers of his iron castle. Jack handed Riverrath’s present up to him. Hardly had he begun to open it when the clearest stream Jack had ever seen trickled down over the castle wall. With it was a card which read:
“A crystal brook,—to make geography clearer.”
“Thank you, thank you!” cried the map giant. “And all the school children will thank you too.”
After that Jack and the Daughter of the Fountain skimmed down the rivers for an hour or more before they saw the King of Ireland’s palace. On the bank stood Jack’s father and mother waiting to welcome them. Jack got out and kissed them both; then he gave his hand to the Daughter of the Fountain.
When the king and queen saw what a fine lady Jack’s guide was, they thought they would like to have her for a daughter. “How would you like to marry Jack?” asked the king.
The Daughter of the Fountain said she would not mind in the least. So the king called for his gilt coach, and they all got in and drove toward town. And when the river saw that the Daughter of the Fountain was in the coach, it lay right down, and let them drive over as dry and fine as you please.
Jack and the Daughter of the Fountain went into the church and were married. And all the people cried, “What a fine bride Jack has!”
But the king was so taken up with looking at his coach that he forgot the bride entirely. For on all the gilt wheels, on all the gilt sides, on both the shiny doors was not a single spot of mud! And ever after when the king of Ireland drove down among his subjects, his coach was just as bright and fine as the day it first was gilded.
—Based on Celtic folk-lore.